"Golden Bachelorette" Joan Vassos searches for love on terra firma, but the above photo revives memories of "The Love Boat," where love was exciting and new.
He's not Captain Stubing, but eligible bachelor Kim Buike, 69, retired U.S. Navy captain (above photo), comes a courtin' in dress whites to woo ABC's lovelorn bachelorette on the season premiere of "The Golden Bachelorette" Wednesday.
Cap'n Kim is one of 24 golden bachelors who will vie for Vassos in the inaugural season of the show, a spinoff of "The Golden Bachelor."
Vassos, 61, was a participant in that show, but she left in mid-show for a family emergency in Maryland.
In so doing, she missed an opportunity to spend the rest of her life in wedded bliss to Gerry Turner, ABC's golden bachelor from last fall whose TV-arranged marriage to Theresa Nist ended in divorce three months after their wedding aired live on ABC.
Could Vassos have gone more than three months with Gerry Turner? We will never know the answer to that question, but on "The Golden Bachelorette," she'll have her choice of a chock full o' nuts -- one of whom is actually named "Chock."
Yes, it has long been the TV Blog's contention that only nuts appear on TV reality shows, but on the other hand, I have never been invited on one, so what do I know?
Perhaps it's fun to do, as long as you can take off from work for a few weeks -- unless you're retired like seven of the 24 "Golden Bachelorette" contestants who have time on their hands.
ABC obviously wants "The Golden Bachelorette" to go where "The Golden Bachelor" went before.
Last fall, "The Golden Bachelor" became that rare thing in TV today -- a "talker" -- which is a show that many talk about, but do not necessarily watch.
The show's nine episodes drew an average of 4.65 million in live viewership over its nine episodes, but trade reports at the time said the show's audience multiplied many-fold in +3 and +7 viewing on co-owned platforms such as Hulu.
The TV Blog suspects "The Golden Bachelorette" will be a "talker" too as America once again takes up the novelty of these 60-plussers looking for love on the dry land of California.
No "Love Boat" here, but like that golden TV oldie, for Joan Vassos and her suitors, love on "The Golden Bachelorette" is still "exciting and new" and "life's sweetest reward," or so they hope.